Formaldehyde is a common by product of urea formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde based resin systems. Free formaldehyde commonly is released during the processing of such resin systems during formation of bonded, coated and nonwoven abrasive products, and may represent a potential health hazard.
Several types of scavengers have been employed to reduce emission of free formaldehyde from urea formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde resins. Among known scavengers, the most common are polyacrylamide and urea. However, as typically employed, each of these scavengers cause a significant reduction in the performance characteristics of abrasive products in which they are employed.
Therefore, there exists a need for urea formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde resins that minimize or eliminate emission of free formaldehyde without substantial reduction in performance characteristics of products in which they are incorporated.